Coupling



March 30 1926.

A. E. BRONSON ET AL COUPLING Fi l ed Jan.

Jim; 6711 0746.

Patented Mar. 30, 1926.

1 "UNITED STATES- PATENT OFF/ICE.

ADELBEB'I. a. BRONSON AND ERNEST L. roman, or CLEVELAND, onro, Assmrrons'ro 'rrm mm. MANUFACTURING comm; or CLEVELAND, onro, A coaroaA'rroncoorrirne.

Appligation filed January- 7, 1921. Serial No. 435,725.

have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Couplings, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact descrlptlon.

The present invention relates to a coupling device by which twocooperating members may be readily attached or detached from each other.

The invention described is particularly useful although not necessarilylimited for use in connection with the flexible conduit ofv a so called.grease un by which lubricant may be applied to a caring.

3 is a top plan'view-of t certain portionsin section; Fig.. 4 isa topReference should be had to the accompany ring drawings forming a part ofthis "specification in which is an elevation of a grease gun having theinvention applied theretoand a cooperating lubricant receivingdevice;'Fi 2 is a sectional elevation of a portion of t e coupling device andconduit, certain portions beingl in section; Fig.

plan view of the coupling with the top of the surroundin casing removed;Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the manipulator by which the jawsare moved.-

-In the following specification the" descrip-- tion of the inventionwill be given with particular reference to its appllcation for use-witha grease gun for use in connection with lubricant receiving deviceswhich are mount ed upon a mach ne adjacent the bearings thereof so thatlubricant may be forced from j 11 and 12}? so that they are spreadapart..-

the gun to the various. bearings.

This particular use to which the coupling is applied is however butexplanatory of its general use" and it may be employed for" other useswhere performing similar functions. 1

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicatesa casing which is hollow and isadapted to contain a charge of lubricating material such as greasean'dfor the purpose of expelling case from the casing 1 when desired thereis a suitable device within the casing 1 (which devices are well knownin the art) and this device is operated by means of a screw 2 which isturned by the handle- 3.

the outlet from the casing 1 is at the bottom thereof and in the presentinstance the out e coupling with let comprises a swivel connection 4which in turn communicates with a flexible conduit 5. By virtue of theswivel connection 4 and the flexible conduit 5 it is possible to reachhearings in any given mechanism which are more or less inaccessible tolubricating de vices which are rigid and not flexible. At the end of-theflexible conduit 5 there is-acollar 6 which is secured at the end of thetral 'opening9. This packing substantially fills the cup as indicated inthe drawing.

' Above the packing is a plate 10 which has a central opening which issubstantially coincident withthe opening 9 in the washer 8.

Resting on .to of the plate 10 are two pivoted aw mem ers 11 and 12,each jaw memher being pivoted upon the plate 10 as indicated at 11"and12."- These'jaw members are recessed as indicated at 11" and 12 so thatwhen they come together there is a centrally disposed opening which isslightly smaller than the opening throughithe plate 10, but is inalignment therewith.

The jawsll and 12 have'portions which their pivoted points'llv and'12andthese ortions terminate in, projectionssuch as extend inwardlyor'toward each other from lndicated at 11 and12". These projections :arespaced slightly a art from each other but are adjacent eac other. Itwill be perfectly apparent by an inspection of Fig. 4 that if pressurebe applied to the projections 11 and 12, it Wlll cause the jaws 11 "and12 to rock about their pivotal points closed position such as showninFig. 4 and if the force. or evice which ma spread them apart is removethe s r1n 13 will move the jaws back into their-c ose position.

Cooperating with the cup shaped portion.

7 is a cover 14 which has a depending side flange 15, this flange beingthreaded .upon

normally maintain the jaws 1 1 and 12 in the jaws are s read apartand-subsequently be usedto the interior thereof and cooperating withthreads upon the exterior of the cup shaped .portion 7.

As will be seen from the drawing, the. plate which carries the jaws '11and 12-is centered and held in position by the depending flange of thecover 14.'

There is an opening through the flange of the cover 14, which opening isindicated at 16 and through this opening there extends an operatingmember which .is indicated generally at 17. This operating member has aportion 17 which extends substantially parallel with the dependingflange and at the opposite end the member 7 is provided with an enlargedhead 17 which lies above the plate.10 and in position to engage with theprojections 11 and 12. Vhen the member 17 is pushed inwardly the head17? engages with the projections 11 and 12 and expands the jaws Hand 12.\Vhen pressure upon the member 17 is released, the

pressure due to the spring 13 causes the aws 11 and 12 to return totheir initial condition. The device which cooperates with the movablejaws 11 and12 for the purpose of forming the complete coupling isindicated generally at 18. This device may be termed,

' where'it is used in connection with a grease with the recess or grooveas through the flexible conduit 5, the will-prevent the grease vfromsecuring any gun, a. lubricant receiving device. One end of the deviceis threaded as indicated at 18 and'is adapted to be screwed into athreaded opening which communicates with a hearing.. This device has acentral duct or channel-18 which extends entirely through the same andintermediate its ends the device is provided with a recess or channel 18which is of a width corresponding with the thickness of the jaws 11 and12.

The diameter of the head of the device which is indicated at 18 is suchas to closely fit within the central opening of the washer 8 so thatwhen thedevice 18 is inserted through the central opening of the cover14, the head which has a rounding end portion pushes the jaws 11 and 12apart and as soon as the device has been pushed in suflicientlyfar thesejaws 1'1 and 12 engage in the groove, or channel 18, being urgedinwardly into close engagement by the This engagement of the jawsdescribed setogether and be forced packing 8 spring 13.

curely holds the coupling parts when in this condition if greaseexitexcept through the central opening 1 of the lubricant receivingdevice '18..

When a sufiicient or desired amount lubricant has been charged through.the lubricant receiving device, the handle 3 may be turned slightly inthe reverse direction thereby relieving pressure on the lubricant.within the pressure '1 and for the purpose of thereof, said packingmember having a central opening, a plate overlying the packing andsupported thereby out of contact with said end member, a cap detachablysecured upon said cup shaped end member, said plate and cap havingcentral openings aligned with the opening in the packing member, a

pair of clamping jaws pivoted to saidplate and lying between the plateand cap, said jaws being positioned at opposite sides of the openings.and. spring pressed toward clamping position, and means extending to.theoutside of the socket member for open mg said aws, said plug memberbeing 111- sertable into the socket member. through the openings in thecap and plate and having an 'end portion adapted to fit within theopening-in the packing and a circumferential groove adapted to receivethe clamping aws.

2. A detachable coupling for conduit sections, comprising interlockingplug and socket members at the ends of the sections to be joined, saidsocket member comprising an enlargedexternally threaded end memberhaving a cup shaped recess, a packing member fitting in the recess andprojecting beyond the outer end of the end member, said packing memberhaving a. central opening, a cap adapted'to be screwed on the end member, said cap having an opening aligned with the opening in the packingmember, a

plate overlying said packing member and member for said clamping, meanscarried by the cap, said plate being unattached and free to rotatewiththe cap, said plug memher being insertable into the socket throughthe openings in the cap and plate and having a recessed portion engagedby said clamping means.

In testimony whereof, we hereunto .affix our signatures.

ERNEST L. FULLER .ADELBERT. E.- BRONSON.

